Declarative support for reference data in relational databases

Abstract

Reference data is defined declaratively and deployed imperatively to both new and existing databases. By designating a reference data set as open or closed, reference data can be overwritten or spared. Reference data can be included in schema comparison. Reference data defined in scripts can be validated against corresponding table definitions and non-compliant values can be reported.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 at least one processor of a computing device;   a memory of the computing device; and   at least one module loaded into the memory causing the at least one processor to:
 declaratively define data for a database artifact for a database; and 
 deploy the data to the database imperatively. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one module loaded into the memory causing the at least one processor to:
 designate the database artifact as closed, such that defined values present in the database artifact but not included in a schema for the database artifact are deleted from the database. 
   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one module loaded into the memory causing the at least one processor to:
 designate the database artifact as open, such that defined values present in the database artifact but not included in a schema for the database artifact are not deleted from the database. 
   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one module comprising a schema comparer that is loaded into the memory causing the at least one processor to:
 receive a comparison result from a model comparer that compares two sets of data model elements and generates the comparison result that lists differences between the two sets. 
   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one module comprising a deployment engine that is loaded into the memory causing the at least one processor to:
 perform an incremental deploy by creating imperative scripts and executing the created imperative scripts, the incremental deploy only updating changed data. 
   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one module comprising a reverse engineering module that is loaded into the memory causing the at least one processor to:
 generate data model elements by extracting data from hosting tables. 
   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 at least one module comprising a model builder that is loaded into the memory causing the at least one processor to:
 construct corresponding data model elements from a reference data definition for the database. 
   
     
     
         8 . A method comprising:
 defining reference data in a reference data definition declaratively as part of declaratively defining a database schema for a database; and   deploying the reference data to the database imperatively by generating a script directing representation of the reference data in reference data tables in the database, the generated script depending on the state of the reference data in the database.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 validating the reference data as part of a schema development process.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 designating a reference data table for the reference data as closed; and   removing reference data entries in the database not in the reference data definition.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 honoring dependencies in the database schema among reference data tables and among the data values so that data rows are inserted in the database in a specific sequence.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 designating a reference data table for the reference data as open; and   failing to delete reference data entries in the database not in the reference data definition.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 extracting a reference data schema for a data reference table from the database, the schema comprising a table definition script and a data definition script.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 comparing a reference data schema of an existing database and a reference data schema of a database under development, wherein the comparison identifies differences in reference data values.   
     
     
         15 . A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions which when executed cause at least one processor of a computing device to:
 define reference data for a database declaratively as part of declaratively defining a schema;   generate an imperative script, the imperative script used to deploy the database;   validate the imperative script against a corresponding reference data table definition; and   incrementally deploy the reference data to the database imperatively, only updating changed reference data.   
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , comprising further computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause at least one processor to:
 designate a reference data table for the reference data as closed; and   remove reference data entries in the database not in the reference data definition.   
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 16 , comprising further computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause at least one processor to:
 designate a reference data table for the reference data as open; and   fail to delete reference data entries in the database not in the reference data definition.   
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , comprising further computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause at least one processor to:
 extract a schema for a data reference table from the database; and   extract the reference data from the database in a declarative format.   
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , comprising further computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause at least one processor to:
 compare a reference data schema of an existing database and a reference data schema of a database under development, wherein the comparison identifies differences in reference data values.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 15 , comprising further computer-executable instructions, which when executed cause at least one processor to:
 honor dependencies in the database schema among reference data tables and among the data values that require data rows to be inserted in a specific sequence.